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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bore · rash · rest · track · shower · pitcher · cabinet · season

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. rest — a break
  7. bore — to tire
  8. rest — what's left
  9. shower — rain
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. track — to keep track
  15. season — of the year
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to drill
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. rash — a series
  20. track — a song
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. track — a path
  23. rest — what's left
  24. cabinet — ministers

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com